I needed some meat for the freezer and wanted to reduce the abundance of does in our area. Gerald and I spotted this old girl crossing the farm mid-day yesterday. 257 Raptor in a 14" Contender shooting a 100 grain Sierra Pro-Hunter at a ranged 260 yards with a witness. Gerald was standing beside me with a laser range finder watching the deer when I touched off the shot. She ran about 35-40 yards and laid down with her head up. She lay there 2-3 minutes, got up and disappeared over the rise. We found her about 10 yards from where she originally laid down.
I am sighted in 2" high at 100 yards and knew the bullet should drop about 5" at 250 yards. I held at the top of her shoulder and the bullet impacted at the bottom of her left shoulder, demolished both lungs, and broke the off-side shoulder. I found the bullet under the hide when I skinned the deer this morning. The bullet retained 86.2 of the original 100 grains and formed a perfect mushroom. Not bad performance for a rifle bullet at handgun velocities. The load is shooting 2575 fps. at the muzzle and my charts show 1965 fps. at 260 yards.
I wasn't trying for any long range record, but she presented a good shot and I had a steady rest using my backpack. This 260 yard shot exceeds any shot I have made with any weapon, much less a handgun. She is the largest doe I have ever taken weighing 125 lbs. field dressed.
